switching it up

April 11, 2012

Good morning, friends! Fun fact of the day – did you know that 100 years ago yesterday the Titanic set sail on its maiden voyage? It’s the truth — part of me knows that because of the million of commercials for Titanic in 3D. Another part of me knows only that because we are studying the Titanic in fifth grade right now.

Upwards and onwards to other things though — how about another week of eating more of our veggies?

I can’t say that I really did that yesterday. In fact, I ate less vegetables than normal. It kept my stomach happy all day long, so I was more than okay with it.

Breakfast — 6:00 AM

Whether you choose to believe this is real life or not is one thing, but I have not been loving oatmeal at all lately. For the past week, I’ve been turning my nose up at it. Instead, all I have wanted are pancakes! For the past five or six days, I’ve been making my Greek Yogurt Pancakes — and been loving them every single time.

I must say though, I want some more options. While I love pancakes, I am needing some more suggestions for what to make for breakfast. I’m a sweet girl in the morning (my food… not me.)

This morning was a rough one. I don’t know what’s with me, but towards the end of the year I get incredibly dysfunctional in the mornings. I left pretty much on time today, but then I realized my gas light was on empty. I headed to the nearest gas station only to realize my wallet was not in my purse. Back to my house I went. Back to the gas station I went. I was only two minutes late. That’s pretty darn good! It was quite the commute!

Lunch — 11:30 AM

Enter in my newest lunch obsession. I took it upon myself to buy a bag of Udi’s plain bagels over the weekend, and now I am wondering what in the world took me so long. I’ve eaten this sandwich three times since Saturday, and I’m a little upset I only have one bagel left.

The Sandwich:

Udi’s plain bagel

Fried egg

2 tbsp. horseradish hummus (from Trader Joe’s — SO good!)

1/4 avocado

lettuce

tomato

On the side, I ate some mini sweet peppers….

and I also ate some pineapple and mango.

..aaand I might have eaten this entire chocolate bar. It’s only about half the size of a regular chocolate bar because of its “mini” size, but I just couldn’t help myself. It was delicious.

Last week Alter Eco sent me a few of their products to try out, with one of these chocolate bars as one of the products. When they emailed me to see if I wanted to try any of their stuff out, I couldn’t resist. Their mission is so incredible, and I really wanted to get the word out. Taken from their website, Alter Eco’s vision is this:

“We are a team of fair trade visionaries and food-loving explorers on a mission to connect you to our farmers and their honest foods. When you taste the sweet justice of our mission you will understand our persistence, and our invitation to join us in finding your Alter Eco.”

Their products are from all over the world, and it’s interesting to hear the stories behind each one of the foods.

Snack — 4:00 PM

I was deep in work for about an hour after school today, and when I left I had a pounding headache. I turned off the radio, grabbed my snack, and drove home for the half hour in silence.

Dinner — 6:15 PM

Dinner featured another new to me food — Ruby Red Rice which is very prevalent in Thailand. In fact, did you know the phrase “I’m hungry” in Thailand really translates to “I’m hungry for rice”? I learned this on the back of the package when I was reading the directions on how to cook it. This is another product Alter Eco sent to me, and I was excited to try it out.

The rice turned out beautifully. It has a shorter cook time than most rice (30 minutes as opposed to 45-50 minutes) and has a nutty and hearty flavor. The Husband and I both admitted to being nervous about if we would like it or not, but we both cleaned our plates.

What we served with the rice was a little random, but it worked. I roasted up some green beans in some olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper at 425 for about 30 minutes.

I also threw a bunch of things together in a skillet and hoped it would come out delicious — we were lucky last night, folks! (note: it’s not always the case)

Sharing is Caring:

I’ve switched up my breakfast lately to a bowl of savory quinoa! Recently I’ve been loving cooking it and then adding vanilla almond milk, coconut butter, and sometimes banana slices! So good and so savory!!

I love oatmeal too, but sometimes I need to change it up! I’ve been really enjoying Ashley’s buckwheat bakes from the Edible Perspective for breakfast. Lots of protein and fiber, so it’s super filling, plus GF! On weekday mornings, I often make the microwave version to save time. Or I mix up the dry ingredients the night before and add the wet ingredients in the morning, then let it bake while I get ready. I had a strawberry-banana version yesterday and it was deeelicious!

Remember your peanut butter quinoa that was supposed to be granola bars- the one with the cocoa nibs? That on top of greek yogurt is delightful but this time you could make it with almomd butter to mix things up….. That one was really good! You could also do a sweet breakfast casserole baked in muffin tins for a quick grab and go breakfast…
The end of the school year leaves me late to work a lot of the time too- you’re not alone. ….and by the looks of my tardy slips, we aren’t alone either…

I’ve been switching up breakfasts too because I’m outta Sunwarrior…without it my overnight oats just ain’t the same! Today was a pancake morning and I loved the switch up- such a nice change to have a cooked breakfast on a weekday!

Horseradish hummus…ahhhh that sounds so good. When is Trader Joe’s coming to Canada! I was so jealous when the husband was in Arizona and at Trader Joe’s. He kept sending me all these pictures of their products. Maybe 10 years from now, we’ll finally get some lol

I have been obsessed with quinoa for breakfast lately! I cook up a big batch at the start of the week then in the mornings I heat up cooked quinoa and a few spoons of quinoa flakes with rice milk in the microwave, then mix in a scoop of protein powder and chia seeds and top with banana, berries and nut butter! I guess it’s like porridge but I’ve never eaten real porridge before :/ haha.

Ooh I want to try that ruby rice!!
And let’s see…breakfast…
I’ve been eating toast with a mashed banana/almond butter/vanilla extract/almond milk spread and sliced strawberries for about a month! But, that is not quite gf friendly…

I also like making a big batch of Ashley’s oat flour or buckwheat bakes and throwing them in the freezer to heat up in the toaster for breakfast.

I think you had a picture of those pancakes in your weekend picture post. I couldn’t tell what they were at the time and thought they were sweet potato rounds with some kind of sauce on top…not even close! Ha!

I have too many to list – but some are: smoothie bowls, banana breakfast bakes (topped with yogurt and nut butter), Greek yogurt bowls with nut butter, cereal/granola, and fruit, wraps with but butter and banana grilled, thin bun sandwiches with apples, nut butter and flax grilled… see too many!

Oh my. Alter Eco chocolate is my one true love. Did they send you the quinoa chocolate bar? Because seriously, I am OBSESSED with those. They have a new flavor – I think it’s dark chocolate toffee coconut? If you don’t have a sample of that, run out and find one. I shed a tear with every single bite.

i’m totally a sweet kinda girl in the morning too (again, not me, my food ). my breakfasts usually rotate between stovetop oatmeal, overnight oats, or pancakes. i try a bunch of different pancake recipes so i don’t get bored with them. you could make some sort of bread or muffins to give you some more options!

I definitely go through phases with my breakfast. I had oatmeal like every single day in the past and now I barely even eat oatmeal, I’m sure it’ll be back soon. But lately I like pancakes or yogurt. I need to get my hands on some Udi’s bagels!

Besides oats I like making pancakes (there are so many different recipes!), greek yogurt bowls with granola and lots of different fruits, and french toast! You could try smoothies maybe? I’ve never been a big smoothie person at breakfast though because no matter how much I put into them, I just don’t feel full after! I guess it just doesn’t seem like a full breakfast to me

Oh those mini sweet peppers are SO good! And they’re pretty, too. Did you hear about the cruise that left last week that is a Titanic memorial cruise? They’re following the same path and packed with Titanic relatives. Crazy.

I feel like watching Titanic now. One of my all time faves.
My recent breakfast obsession is Cinnamon Pecan Special K (I know, I know…too processed, but so yummy) with fresh strawbs, bloobs and Vanilla, Cococut, Almond Milk. It gets me outta bed in the morning for sure.
Made Greek Yog Pancakes for the first time this weekend with my fiance, and they were spectacular. Had the last of the leftovers this morning. Yum!
Looking to incorporate quinoa into the routine, soon.

I’ve been on a protein pancake kick lately too! I’ve posted vegan pumpkin protein pancakes and banana protein pancakes, which are my FAVOURITE. The banana ones are below – I make them half coconut flour half regular flour so I’m sure you could replace the regular flour with a gluten-free mix! Hope you love

I eat organic cream of buckwheat with a banana (and sometimes with strawberries) every morning but I mix it up with Trader Joes’s gluten free waffles (yumm-0) and veggie omelete. Love love TJ’s hummus with horseradish.

random skillet dinners are my favorite. I love when they work! Also that rice looks fantastic.
I’m the kind of person that gets sick of a breakfast if I eat it more than two days in a row, haha. So I have tons in the rotation – yogurt bowls with cereal and other goodies, fruit with nut butter (in a bowl or sandwich form), french toast, quinoa bowls (if you like your oats, but with a quinoa base instead!), sweet brown rice bowls (rice pudding, basically), smoothies, popped amaranth, smoothies…the possibilities are endless!

i keep meaning to get some of the red rice in the bulk bins at our co-op. this may have finally convinced me.
ps im going to DC later this month and i just found out theres a titanic exhibit – sooo excited!! [im a geek]

My favorite breakfast is Chobani yogurt. I never get sick of it because the flavors always change, but I am also a huge fan of english muffins and eggs. Lindsay at The Lean Green Bean just did a post about making your own breakfast burrito and it made me remember my favorite…La Favorita. If you have them at your grocery store they are a healthy burrito option. Otherwise, make your own!

I eat overnight oatmeal every single morning (and have for probably two years by now) so I’m no help.

But I just have to say that I’m so glad you’re teaching about the Titanic! After reading about all of those “dude, did you know that the Titanic actually happened?” and “Titanic isn’t just a movie? #mindblown” tweets I was wondering what was wrong with our schools!

Rice cake with Sunflower Seed Butter on it..– since this is my new obsession. Also- I lauged out loud and shared with Leanne about your sweets in the morning comment. Loved it. (And can vouche for the truth in it)

I have to say that oatmeal protein pancakes are my favorite… but I have been getting an upset stomach lately after breakfast so I might lay off the oatmeal for a week and see how it goes. I’ve been having eggs and Ezekiel toast topped with all natural peanut butter or egg white, veggie and sweet potato scrambles. I LOVE sweet potatoes so this one is way up my alley!

I just made a coconut oatmeal breakfast that rocks. It’s on todays WIAW post if you want to have a look. Otherwise I love protein pancakes. Don’t you love roasted green beans?! They taste like fries, so good.

yum, I want to try those pancakes! I always switch it up in the morning. Protein muffins with fruit, yogurt bowls, granola and fruit, french toast, bagel with pb and jam or banana, toast and toppings, and of course waffle sandwiches which are super portable too Oh and how can I forget smoothies, perfect summer breakfast!

i feel you with the breakfast! i usually am one of those people that walk straight to the stove wen i wake up to make my breakfast and lately im just not wanting really anything i usually have (smoothies and oatmeal) so i been boring with a banana cut up in a little almond milk with some shredded coconut and ground flax and its like a “lightened up” cereal and hits the spot especially with the nice weather coming and its actually filling!

Looks like a yum day of eats! The dinner looks delicious, especially the green beans (I love green beans). One of my favorite breakfasts, albeit one that I rarely make, is definitely baked oatmeal. Perhaps a mid-point between pancakes and oatmeal? I’m pretty much in a permanent oatmeal for breakfast rut, not that I’m complaining!

I go through breakfast phases – in the fall and winter all I ever want is a bowl of hot oats, and then when it starts to warm up outside I switch to smoothies and overnight oats. However, lately I’ve been making a batch of mini frittatas on Sunday and enjoying them for breakfast throughout the week. Stuffed French toast is always a good sweet breakfast, too!

Lately, I do a fruit and veggie smoothie in the mornings (1/2 banana, handful of strawberries, 1 carrot, handful of spinach or broccoli, other random fruits, OJ) with a whole wheat English muffin and jam.

Haha. I hear you! Its amazing how much of a difference adding an English muffin (also not a meal by itself) or a whole piece of fruit on the side makes. I cannot communicate to you how much I love eating. I also love fitting in my clothes. But I actually end up amazingly full by adding the muffin. I’m starving still without it.

Hi Chelsey! You don’t know me but I love reading your blog everyday. My favorite breakfast is Nancy’s lowfat cottage cheese mixed with grapes. Then a bowl of Kashi Golean Crunch with soymilk on the side. This breakfast is so tasty and keeps me energized!

Hi Chelsey,
Our school district is on spring break this week and I am having a blast cooking up a bunch of your recipes. I just tried the pancakes this morning! AMAZING! I do have to say that the banana sauce was my favorite!!! YUMMMY!!!!!
THanks so much!!! melissa

i have been eating STUFT MAMA’s protien cookie every morning for at least a week. This thinkg keeps me full for at least 4 hours. It’s crazy.
1/4 cup oatmeal
1/3 cup brown rice
2 T applesouce
1 scoop protien powder
1 T peanut butter
1/2 T chia seeds
mix it all together, add 1 more T of PB on the top then melt a square of semisweet choc and top it all off. you can either eat it immeadiately or set it in the fridge while you get ready. Quite addictive.